when i originally made these i fitted a clear plastic washer over the first head section, this gave a really violent wiggle, later i found a company that makes something similar called an action disc i think. When took the washer off i found that with uneven joints and a slight oscillation in retrieve it made a very natural looking sand eel swimming action so i suck with that. I still maintain that this lure has given me the most fun while sea fishing. cheers
I've had other BPM baits ru-vid.comUgkxCbNOWAGmn6nfbCbJDmasvBq7J38KZNw2 before and they've pretty much always came through for me with the suskie smallies here and even with the walleye and pike, but I realized I didn't have an "in-between" pattern so this junebug one fills that role in no problem. it pairs up magnificently with a junebug Zoom Z-craw Jr that was trimmed a couple millimeters before the hook slots and rigged sideways for that fatter panfish side profile while still being a nice'n'compact presentation, a real power-finesse bait. Hell, it was so pretty I even bothered to fotosketch the pic into a watercolor painting image just to show you it's beauty! Even the blades are really well made, sure, they're not of Hildebrandt-level exquisiteness but look at the bead's reflection on the colorado blade, definitely well-made! The only "problem" spot it had was a bald spot in the skirt but it was nothing that I couldn't easily fix with a but of tuggin'n'shiftin' with the strands for a couple of seconds, besides that it is pretty minty!
Fimo is not really the best material i have ever used but in this set up it did the job and i really had a great time fishing with these lures in the sea. I through about adapting it for pike but as yet have not come up with a suitable cord, the only possibility is maybe a kevlar mixed thread? The other option is to try and make a similar lure but with wire joints and this is another thing i may never get around to trying.
Paul, these sand eels are amazing! Fish hit them aggressively here in the Sea of Cortez. And few things feel as good as catching a fish with a lure made by oneself. Thanks!
if i ever get chance I would really like to revisit this lure and do something bite proof but keep some of the simplicity. Good luck with the stripers, let me me know how you get or if you come up with some improvements of your own. thanks again
no it doesn't go rock hard and it is heavier than water. It does not have much structural strength but in this lure it is not required. Thanks for asking Paul Adams
Keep your hands off kevlar for pike ,..... without any wire core they can snap it instantly , learned this the hard way 20 years ago ! in my opinion interconnected wireforms shaped like paperclips are the best option , but timeconsuming to do , they require to be epoxied into about 4,5mm center bores one by one , inbetween glue processes all excess glue has to be removed before threading in and glueing the next wire form into the following lure section . Cheers , Dieter
Polymer clay is not a great material to try and drill it is durable but not as strong as other plastics. An alternative i have used is long plastic beads. These lures only work because the faces of the beads meet each other at a slight angle and the flexible cord allows the shape of the lure to deform. To get the angle on the beads you will need to sand an angle onto the end of the beads.
Awesome effective lures. They work great here in Florida. Here's a tip for you Sir regarding the little eye'. Just use a small little craft stick and place a small piece of scotch tape on one end so that the stickiness is on the stick and opposite side. Place the eye on it and while you dab a small drop of super glue on the lure place the eye down on it with the stick and hold it there applying slight pressure for about 20 seconds. Easy with no mess and works great. I love your show and keep up the fantastic instructions. Peace and tight lines.
i used spinner wire because i had some, but you could use any straight wire i have used copper wire stripped from cable and brass wire. Craft shop usually have some kind of wire especially bead shops. I used about 1mm -1.5mm . have fun . I am going up to Scotland soon so i may make some more and a HD Video. I would really like to do a bit bass fishing on wales with them.
Interesting, thanks. I am experimenting with these in the US - NJ to be precise, for striped bass. Sand eels are in now. Bluefish would tear these apart withe the braided line. So I made some with mono and some with braid. And yes, a retrieve with a periodic "up and down" motion of the rod does make them move nicely.
these are great for pollock or saithe over reefs. I have never had one break they are just a jazzed up bit of string, the eel sections are not attached to anything they are just threaded so there is nothing really to break. There is another vid of me fishing with them.
Speaking of eye problem, perhaps it could be solved by a touch of white corrector malt (like the one used to correct typing errors in typewriter era) and when it dries out ad a touch with water resistant black pen. Then it can all be sprayed with plastic spray, commonly used to protect printed circuit boards in electronics, or coated with transparent boat varnish. Haven't tried though...
Had another go at these yesterday Paul and added a split ring with treble attached to the mid section for better bite to catch ratio and the swim still seems fine.
I don't know if you heard of Cuda lures, they are made out of surgical tube and coated wire. I took your concept with ones I made a few years ago, and merged it with the wire, can't wzit to try it out. Love your idea.
Keep your hands off kevlar for pike , learned it the hard way about 20 years ago ! If it doesn't have a steel core , the fish can snap it in an instance . Interconnected wireforms shaped similar to a paperclip are the best option , I'd say , but time consuming to do . Glued into about 4,5mm center bores you'd need to epoxy them in one by one , inbetween let dry and clean off excess glue after curing , thread in the next form and glue , etc. , ...I made jointed wobblers/swimbaits this way .
Will do. Should get some good time on the water over the next 30 days. I suppose inserting small "rubber pieces" between each articulated piece would help make lure bite proof, and still retain its simplicity.
Sea Fisherman from memory the eels were less than 5-10g and the weight i am using is about 7g, i was fishing with a long rod which i think was a salmon spinning rod (not mine) but a standard lure rod also worked well.
The easiest way i found to do it after i made this video was to push all the section and the last bead down the line and then bend the eel around so the hook end is at a max of ninety degrees to the main part and then add some superglue to first bead before tying the knot. What this does is make sure there is enough flexibility for it to swim but not enough for the hook to swing round to the eye. Do not forget that it is the unevenness of the joints that makes it swim. Good Luck in Ireland
Gökhan Telatar I would of thought sea bass would be great but i think bluefish have very sharp teeth and may cut the braid. I am experimenting with making these with a 49 strand wire to see if i can get something supple enough. Thanks
Hi Paul, It gives me great pleasure to watch your video of making your own polymer clay sandeels and also the other video of catching pollock with it. I´m going to Ireland this summer for fishing and i want to try out your recipe. I bought some clay and right now i´m baking my first sandeel. I was wondering......what kind of spacers do you use to get the perfect clearance for the movement of the eels. I see they´re made of carton, but how many millimeters? Regards from the Netherlands Koen
Paul rember u told me if I figure a way to use wire or the eels I use nylon wire that was on the that were in a pack I brought I had to modify it and modify the eels so wire can go on it. All I hade to do snip off the top end and thread it on use a wire crimp to seal off a loop and put on a washer ring AT&T he back for a hook and for ur main line as well I hope this info helped u cheers mate
Give it a go, I think experiments while holding a fishing rod and standing in water can only be good, unless you are under power lines or in a lightening storm.
that is plasteline or i think wrong? and how not break into water becayse of epoxy you put epoxy on it? ?i cant understand how work could you explain me my friend? thx you again :)
Sea Fisherman in small packets the clay is around £3.50, i do not know about doing another mackerel vid at the moment i am working on other stuff but maybe if get a chance to pop over to Wales. Cheers
.....many years ago I've tried tomake casting spoons out of FIMO , wasn't satisfied with the outcome so I've dropped it . But these sandeels of yours are just awesome(watched their action briefly in another vid of yours) , ...wonder whether one can adapt the design for piking , all would stand or fall with the kind of steel or fluocarbon leader material being used(not convinced about the latter) , ..would require the most flexible stuff around , ......won't dare using braid for pike , no way .
For the eye's I use paint pens, buy them from eBay 99p each they come in various colours, I use white first then when that's dried a black to make the pupil.
I Left A Comment About A Month Ago, But! I Forgot To Leave A "Like" Having Now Watched More Of Your Work, I Now Know That The Video Is Some 5 Years Old And You've Made Huge Leaps In Quality & Production, "Great Work, Well Done" L569
Thanks a lot for video, it will be more useful to make lure for seabass ;) I watched your other hunting video with these sand eel lures, I think they are awesome...
It might be easier to use a pair of tweezers and your knife blade to put eyes on. Hold the eye with tweezer and press with the flat side of your knife. Just an idea.
Hello, it's nice to talk to you. I'm sorry, but due to language difficulties, I did not understand how the line was used in the bait? It's a simple line the size of the bait, or have some special knot? Which would be another more affordable material that I could use as a substitute for this special mass? Thank you.
+carlosGCT1981 Have you even looked what this "special mass" costs? Or are you just assuming it´s expensive? :P It´s neither special nor expensive, it´s just common "cernit polymer clay". When I was young we had this as a toy pretty much. You can find it in any hobby or art store, some toy stores even stock it. A block like he as there, about 50g, costs between 3 and 4 dollars and can make a bucnh of lures, even less per gram if you buy bigger packs. Usually there´s some typ of kit with a few different colors or clay. Hooks, line and swivel costs more than the clay ^^
+eldsprutandedrake You must be referring to amounts charged in Britain or the United States of America, because in Brazil a 50 gram box is coming out around $35, which is actually too expensive to what is intended.
carlosGCT1981 Referring to Sweden actually, find it really hard to belive that 50g should be 5 times more expensive over in Brazil, where are you looking even? Importing it from some other country wouldn´t even cost that much... If I imported from USA to here it would come out at no more than 20$, in all likelihood less.
+eldsprutandedrake Unfortunately that is the reality, the products are not produced in Brazil, and they need to import suffer a tax of around 60% more than recorded purchase amount.
carlosGCT1981 But still, there are no producers here either and Sweden isn´t exactly known for having low taxes. A pack costing 35$ in Brazil and 3$ here would mean you pay like 800% tax if taxes are the reason for the price increase ^^ Still think it´s very much possible to get it cheaper than that were you live, cheaper than that any where in the world... Just ordering it from some other country wouldn´t cost 35$ for a product that´s worth more than 10 times less.
Hi paul.am sarvesh from mauritius island.to be frank your videos are really awesome n the lures are just perfect.thumbs up dude.i really love fishing but unfortunately these lures are not available in our country.it would be a great pleasure if u could help me out.
walmart sell it but i do not think they keep it in the Euless store what about hobby lobby, 5325 William D. Tate Dr Grapevine, TX 76051 817-488-7838 they keep, fimo, and some sculpey, give them a ring, i love the internet, i don't even live in America and i find out where to buy polymer clay in Euless, Texas, i want get on a plane fly 3,000 miles just to see if they have it in stock. Let me know how you get on.. Cheers
Sorry Paul But! The "Sound Quality" on this production wasn't that great, very quite with a lot of background hiss! Other than that I enjoyed watching it with the sound turned off! apologies if I sounded like Craig Revel Horwood
